2021 Delaware Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2021 Delaware Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.23.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Delaware Department of Labor Labor Law Poster (Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.23 | $2.23 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Delaware
What changed this year, and why
The 2021 minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Delaware is $2.23 per hour.
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Delaware for 2021?
- The minimum cash wage is $2.23 per hour. The employer must be able to prove that the employee received the balance of the full minimum rate in tips.
- Is Delaware's tipped minimum cash wage higher than the federal requirement?
- Yes. Delaware's minimum cash wage for tipped employees is greater than the cash wage required by federal law, and employers must pay Delaware's higher rate.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Delaware, an employee counts as a tipped employee when they work in an occupation where tips are customary and they actually bring in more than $30 in tips during a month. That $30-a-month threshold is the federal floor. Whether the employer pays the tipped minimum cash wage of $2.23 or pays the full minimum wage, only tips the worker actually keeps are counted when deciding if they qualify as a tipped employee and when applying any tip credit. If a worker’s tips dip below $30 in a given month, they are not a tipped employee for that period and the employer must pay the full minimum wage instead of the lower cash wage.
Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is an employee engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
Under federal law, an employer can take a tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage it pays directly to the tipped employee and the federal minimum wage. In Delaware, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.23 per hour. This means Delaware employers who take a tip credit must pay at least $2.23 per hour in direct wages, and the tip credit they can claim is the difference between that cash wage and whatever the full minimum wage requirement is. The tip credit reduces what the employer must pay directly, but only if the employee actually receives enough tips to bring their total compensation up to at least the minimum wage. If the tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference. The credit cannot exceed what the worker actually earned in tips during that work period.
An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Under federal law, if a tipped employee's tips combined with the employer's direct cash wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference. In Delaware, this means your employer must track your total earnings every week—your $2.23 per hour cash wage plus whatever tips you actually received. If that combined total falls below the minimum wage for any workweek, the employer is required to pay you the shortfall out of their own funds. This protection applies workweek by workweek, so a bad week with low tips cannot be averaged out against a good week with high tips. The employer bears the risk of slow business periods, not the tipped worker. This rule ensures that even on weeks when customer generosity is low, a tipped employee in Delaware still receives at least the minimum wage for every hour worked.
If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Under federal law, employers must provide specific information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit. In Delaware, before your employer can pay you the lower cash wage of $2.23 per hour and count your tips toward the minimum wage, they must inform you of five things: the amount of cash wage they are paying you, the amount of tip credit they are claiming, that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips you actually received, that you get to keep all your tips except for valid tip pooling arrangements, and that the tip credit will not apply unless you have been told all of this. The employer can give you this notice orally or in writing, but they must give it before they start taking the credit. If they fail to provide this information, they cannot take a tip credit at all and must pay you the full minimum wage directly without relying on your tips to make up the difference.
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA:
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
Under federal law, when state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees. In Delaware, this means if state law provides a higher minimum cash wage, better tip protections, or stricter notice requirements than federal law, Delaware employers must follow the state rule instead of the federal one. For example, Delaware sets its own minimum cash wage for tipped employees, and if that wage is higher than what federal law requires, employers in Delaware must pay the state's higher amount. Similarly, if Delaware law restricts tip pooling more than federal law does, or requires additional notice before taking a tip credit, those stricter state requirements control. The rule ensures that workers in Delaware always get the benefit of whichever standard, state or federal, gives them more protection.
When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
Under federal law, regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. In Delaware, this means your employer, your manager, and your supervisor cannot take any of the tips you receive from customers. They cannot require you to hand over your tips, they cannot use a tip pool to redirect your tips to themselves, and they cannot keep tips even if they pay you the full minimum wage without taking a tip credit. The tips belong to you, not the business or its management. A manager or supervisor who also serves customers may keep only the tips they receive directly from customers they personally served, but they cannot participate in a tip pool that includes other employees' tips. This rule protects tipped workers in Delaware from having their earnings taken by those above them in the workplace hierarchy.
Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
Under federal law, an employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. In Delaware, if your employer pays you the lower cash wage and takes a tip credit, they can only require you to share your tips with other workers who also regularly receive tips as part of their job—such as waiters, bellhops, bussers, and service bartenders. They cannot force you to share tips with employees who do not customarily receive tips, like cooks, dishwashers, or janitors. There is no limit on how much of your tips you must contribute to a valid traditional tip pool, but the pool must only include workers in tip-earning occupations. If your employer wants to include non-tipped employees in the pool, they cannot take a tip credit and must pay you the full minimum wage directly. Employers must also notify you of any required tip pool contribution amount.
An employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Doing two jobs for one employer
Under federal law, when an employee works in a dual job situation—like a hotel maintenance person who also works as a server—that employee is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. In Delaware, this means if you work two different jobs for the same employer, one where you receive tips and one where you do not, your employer can only take a tip credit for the hours you spend in the tip-earning job. For the hours you work in the non-tip job, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage without taking a tip credit. You must customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for the tipped job to qualify as a tipped employee for that role. This is different from related duties in a tipped occupation—like a server who also cleans tables or makes coffee. Those duties are part of the same tipped job and the tip credit can apply to all those hours. But when you work two distinct jobs, the tip credit only applies to the tipped one.
In such a situation the employee, if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Delaware Department of Labor Labor Law Poster (Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs)
- Minimum cash wage
The minimum cash wage payable to employees who receive tips is $ 2.23 per hour, effective 10/1/96.
Other years
Every Delaware Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state